Archive for Marzec 2009

#165E: Did they really die in the „Battle for Milicz (Militsch)” for the world which we see now? – English version (polska wersja ponizej w nastepnym wpisie)

Motto: „Totalizm teaches us, that the only ideas worth our support are these ones which require from us to live for them not to die for them.”
There was an extremely nervous atmosphere in the town already several days before the liberation of Milicz by the Russian army. Frequent controls of documents by German police, checking the „ferdunklungów” – means the blackening of windows, so that the enemy could not see the town. In the direction of then Breslau (i.e. present Wroc³aw) marched a stream of escapees and individual groups of Wermacht (i.e. German army). Military barracks in Milicz were already empty – previously they were occupied by companies of German cavalry. Their evacuation probably took place at night to not cause the panic of civilian population. Such evacuations looked on many different ways, but always silent and orderly („ornung mus zein”) without yelling nor fighting.

The getting a place on a wide-span train (because in Milicz there was also a narrow-span railway) bordered with a miracle. The same was for a narrow-span train. In turn the bicycle transport was rather impossible in weather conditions that prevailed then – i.e. deep snow and frost over 20 degrees Celsius. This is because starting from around 1941 all winters until around 1946 were more severe than usual. So the remaining means of transport were sleighs and horse wagons. But even this last mean of transport was also not easy, as the severe frost was solidifying grease on axels and wheels instead of rotating were slipping along the road covered with snow. In these years snow was not removed from the roads. Two days proceeding the liberation were different from previous ones in which we were living. Tickets for food rations ceased to be used – but generally available food was also not there. Armed representatives of the „arbeitz-dinstu” (soldiers) were watching queues to bakeries to make sure that no-one got more than one loaf of bread without a food ticket.

On the last day before the liberation, means on 21 January 1945, the central square of the town on the side of Maltzans castle (I will describe the directions in such manner) was covered with suitcases, bundles, baskets – probably full of properties of inhabitants of Militsch (i.e. present Milicz) who counted on some doubtful miracle in the form of authorities providing a transport, or a casual opportunity to get a lift – as everything was filled up fully. Between this cavalcade of civilians, single vehicles of Wermacht drove from time to time – which, however, would NOT give lift to civilians. All of them were following the main road towards Breslau (i.e. present Wroc³aw).

The darkness come early – the blackout was in power. The rest was covered in darkness. I returned „home” on Wisenstrasse. Our „home” at that time was one amongst these modular wooden structures mounted on the spot from ready-made prefabricated components then mass-produced in factories from such materials as wood, tar-board, glass and bricks. These wooden structures were used in Milicz for all possible purposes, e.g. as living compounds for „arbeitzdinst”, as a kind of „hotels” for Polish workers and for bombed Germans from other towns, and also for the location of German red cross. Outside of Milicz they become famous as barracks used for prisoners of German concentration camps. There was around ten such kinds of temporary designs in Milicz – if I remember correctly. The Wisenstrasse on which our „home” stood was located on the peripherals of Milicz towards the direction of railway station. It began near the building of transformer by the famous „oaks alley”, while its extension finished on the bridge through the stream called “M³ynówka” by the street that leads to the railway station. On this street were also located the fire brigade barrack and the building of so-called „de-lousing” house – means a kind of baths where clothes brought from concentration camps were disinfected and washed. These clothes were being given later to bombed Germans who needed a material assistance. After the return „home” I found in there the son of German neighbour from behind the wall (whom the leader of 3rd Reich deprived the ownership of a cigar factory). His name was Jochan Schultz. He was still in his years before the conscription to army, but he already worked as a helper to electrical assembly men. He was with his colleague. Both were dressed in uniforms of „arbeitzdinst”, armed in rifles, pockets full of ammunition, but nothing to eat. So the fate make so that the „heren folk” needed to ask a Polish family for a cup of hot coffee and a couple of slices of bread. After this begged meal they went into the dark and frosty night no-one knows where and for what.

The day of liberation, means Monday 22 January 1945, awakened non-typically. It was still completely dark when in the air spread a strange tension of uncertainty induced with some unknown sound – neither the grunt nor buzz nor growl.

When the day already arrived and the visibility returned, we discovered that apart from this unknown sound an absolutely silence prevails and there is no-one alive around – what until that day never happened before. We went with our father in the direction of town-centre to see with our own eyes what actually happened. We arrived as far as the fork of streets separation before the town square from the direction of Wroc³aw, when we encountered a tank standing in there with a group of soldiers that were looking at a map. After „establishing our identity” with our hands up, and determining that we are Polish citizens, they asked us to show on their map in which place they just are and in which direction lies the town of Krotoszyn. Then they let us free while themselves drive their tank in the direction of Krotoszyn. After we recovered from the shock we noted that the corner shop which existed in there has the broken wall (probably by a shrapnel) and the entire interior of it is splashed by something of a red-beetroot colour – it was the effect of hitting the jar with marmalade.

It was the first shell shot in the town during this „battle for Milicz”. It was difficult to calm down after such meeting with the army which we did not know, but which liberated us. We returned „home” to share news with our mother.

However, the curiosity took better of us above the fear, and we went again – this time in the direction of the central square. On the square only sparse bundles and suitcases remained after the crowds of yesterday escapees. At the exit of the street which in past led from side of the Barycz river, half-body of a man lied down rolled over by caterpillars of tanks. For the first time in my life I saw a dead person half in a suit, the rest just a bloody pulp on the background of a white snow. He was the first dead in the „battle for Milicz”, while tanks individually or in groups were driving in the direction only known to them along the exit road from Milicz toward Krotoszyn. At the square in Milicz these tanks were arriving by the main road from the direction of Wroc³aw, or more strictly – as I learned later – by the road from the direction of Twardogóra which near the church of St. Anna (i.e. just before Milicz) is joining the road from Wroc³aw. Close to the midday (because watches were NOT so available to teenagers as today), from the direction of Wroclaw a tank arrived entirely covered with soldiers amongst which there was a civilian woman. This woman soon disappeared in a gate from one of buildings and it was then that the main „battle for Milicz” began. After a while in front of the town-hall a small „tankette” drove in. A Russian soldier with a tube like on a sailing competition walked to the stairs of the town-hall and started to talk something through this tube. In the reply a shot was fired. The Russian soldier fall dead. The remaining soldiers took him to the tankette and then someone shoot from a German „panzerfaust”. The tankette started to burn. Its crew died. Then events started to roll with a flashing speed. From tanks that were passing through the central square and that were pulling artillery guns and mortars behind, Russian soldiers speedy detached two artillery guns. They positioned one such a cannon on the side of the square from the direction of Wroc³aw, while the second gun on the opposite side of the town-hall. They unloaded several boxes of artillery ammunition and started the shelling directly at the town-hall. Apart from crews of these artillery guns several soldiers with their „pepeshas” ready to shoot were protecting the gunners and sporadically shoot in windows of the town-hall.

The precise positioning of both these cannons can be realised when one imagines the section of footpath of the town-square from direction of the railway station and moves in mind this footpath so that it passes through the centre of the town-hall building. On both ends of this parallel moved footpath stood two cannons directed with their barrels at walls of the town-hall. So one can see how shells shot from these cannons penetrated walls of the town-hall. When the calibre of these cannons is concerned, I do not know much about this. In turn the length of their barrels was around one to one and a half of metre.

The town-hall soon started to burn. For an explanation – as it later turned out, in the town-hall were hidden two companies of armed „arbeitzdinst” – i.e. at least 300 teenage Germans. After the front of Russian passed through Milicz, these two companies planned to come out from the hiding under the cover of night and to kill Russian soldiers that were to stay in Milicz, as well as kill all remaining people from Milicz who did NOT evacuate – as being commanded by the German authorities. Supposedly Russian soldiers were informed about these plans by this civilian woman who arrived on the tank.

I wonder whether the reader knows who were the „arbeitzdinst”. These were militarised units of both German teenage boys and girls of an older age. The younger teenagers belonged to the „hitlerjungent”. Such units were formed as „regiments of labour” with military training. Within boundaries of Milicz were two such regiments. It is difficult to determine their age and the age limit between the „arbeitzdinst” formation and the „hitlerjungent” formation, because teenagers then considered to be something noble to wear uniforms of „Hitler-jungent”. But the „hitlerjungent” was the younger part of teenagers which roughly could be described as still in the age of „primary school”. In turn „arbeitzdinst” was the older teenagers in the period before the conscription to army, which could be roughly described as in the „age of Lyceum” (I do not know in what exactly age then was the conscription to army). The „arbeitzdinst” were uniformed into brown-greenish colour uniforms, thus differing from „Wermacht” (i.e. German army) the uniforms of which were in the colour, as then it was popularly described, „feldgrau” – means rotten-green. The symbol of „arbeitzdinst” was a rifle crossed with a spade. One company of „arbeitzdinst” was located in barracks near the town-council on the edge of later sport playgrounds (presently in the direction of hospital). The second company of „arbeitzdinst” was located on the back of farmhouse behind the railroad of narrow-rail train. Each of these units accumulated at least one company of youths. It is difficult to tell how big was such a company, but roughly it consisted of around 150 young persons.

By the wall of town-hall from direction of the railway station (I am using such definition of directions as they are more sure than geographic directions) stood a one-storey adjusted building in which chalets and kitchens were located. It formed a whole with the rest of the town-hall. It was on that building that most frequently burning „defenders” were jumping. They probably wanted to run towards the buildings neighbouring with the town-hall and the central square to save themselves in that manner. But on their path were series from „pepeshas” of soldiers that protected shooting cannons. The town-hall burned out. The nigh fall down. Because the wind blow in the direction towards the railway station, and there was the wooden barrack in which we lived, we needed to protect it on the roof from igniting because piles of burning documents the fire from town-hall was lifting up into the air, and then they rained fire onto our home.

By the morning everything got quiet. Again the curiosity got better of us and it overcome the fear. We needed to satisfy it and go to the town square to see the destruction. There was no army. The town-hall fire was at the last breath. On the footpath of the central square, from side of the railway station around fifteen bodies were lying down covered with snow. All of them lied on their stomachs – probably when running they tripped on the edge of footpath and so collapsed. All of them were males in the teenagers’ age dressed in uniforms of „arbeitzdinst”. In this way the „battle for Milicz” ended.

With regards – eye witness of these several hours from the history of Milicz from sixty-four years ago.

It is also worth to notice that practically all totaliztic web pages are available at each web site (each address, or each server) of totalizm. Therefore, independently from the web page ” bitwa_o_milicz_uk.htm „, each address (server) indicated here should also offer all other web pages of totalizm – unless some of these web pages were sabotaged, or are so new that I had no time yet to upload these at a given address (server). (But in a case when for some reasons a page is unavailable under a given address, still at this address a MENU should be available which has links to other addresses (servers) of totalizm, on which a given web page should already be accessible.) Thus, if someone wishes to view descriptions from any other totaliztic web page, e.g. from a web page listed in this post, or listed in other totaliztic posts, then in the above addresses the name „bitwa_o_milicz_uk.htm” is just enough to exchange for a name of the web page that he or she wishes to view, e.g. for the name of web page „healing.htm”, „oscillatory_chamber.htm”, „eco_cars.htm”, „boiler.htm”, „fe_cell.htm”, „free_energy.htm”, „telekinetics.htm”, „dipolar_gravity.htm”, „nirvana.htm”, „totalizm.htm”, „evil.htm”, „god.htm”, „god_proof.htm”, „bible.htm”, „evolution.htm”, „wszewilki_jutra_uk.htm”, „malbork_uk.htm”, „memorial.htm”, „newzealand.htm”, „partia_totalizmu_uk.htm”, „fruit.htm”, „text_1_5.htm”, „explain.htm”, „day26.htm”, „ufo_proof.htm”, „katrina.htm”, etc., etc.